Thursday, March 17, 2011

#139) RON HERBEL

Ron Herbel was traded from the San Diego Padres to the New York Mets in exchange for Rod Gaspar on September 1, 1970. The righthander was brought in to shore up a struggling bullpen. Ron was successful in New York during the final month of the season. In his 12 games for the Mets he recorded a 2-2 record, with one save and 1.38 ERA. Herbel actually was credited with the victory over the Cardinals in St. Louis during his very first Mets game on September 1st.

The Mets traded Ron to the Atlanta Braves for Bob Aspromonte on December 1, 1970.

Herbel's struggles at the plate were much heralded during his career. He holds the record for lowest batting average by anyone with at least 100 at-bats. An anemic .029. On the occassion of his first major-league hit in 1965, Ron jokingly told reporters, "In the minors, once in awhile I would close my eyes and get a hit...The pitcher would usually have to hit my bat though."

Ron retired from baseball following the 1972 season. He passed away on January 20, 2000 in Tacoma, Washington at the young age of 62.

I purchased this signed index card from the legendary autograph guy, Jack Smalling and converted it into Ron Herbel's card in the set in January 2009. Jack's website is www.baseballaddresses.com

No comments:

Post a Comment

PROJECT STATUS

Current Count of 712 of 791 players.

90.0% Complete

( 7 -Special Moment cards)

Project started in October 2008.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The New York Mets and all their fans bid farewell to a major part of their history at the close of the 2008 baseball season. Shea Stadium had been our summer home for 45 years. So many memories were built there by the 790 players that appeared in a game for the Mets during that time. In celebration of that I created a set of handmade cards featuring each one of these men. My design was done in such a way as to allow an autograph to be included. I am now in the process of having each one signed by those players. This blog will feature the cards as I get them completed. I hope you enjoy following my progress and reliving the careers of these great men that will always be our Mets.

ABOUT ME

I am a lifelong New York Mets fan that grew up in the midwest. I have followed the club and it's rich array of characters throughout the years. Perhaps the most special of which are the "one game" appearances. These men each have a terrific story and honor the legacy of the great Archibald "Moonlight" Graham.
As an autograph collector of the Mets team I will be posting my successes here as well. The focus of my collection is to add a signed baseball card for each man to appear in a game for the Mets. I will be posting examples of these here.